By GEORGE FJELD
BRANDON–Three nursery school classmates have banded together decades later to wow an excited and diverse audience at Red Clover Ale Company last Saturday night. Jim McCuen played bass and Rob McCuen was on guitar with Matt Davis drumming for the 3 hour, 2 set show. Classic rock tunes from The Police, Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Janis Joplin, and Tom Petty were belted out, electrifying the crowd. Vocalist Monique Monette sang with such energy that you couldn’t help but dance, according to local Susan Johnson. The feeling in the room was amazing, the energy was high, and “We were in the zone” according to bassist Jim McCuen.
Twins Jim and Rob McCuen and their schoolmate/bandmate Matt Davis have been playing out in different guises for twenty years. They started jamming together in their teens back around 1991. This present iteration, The Yurtbags, is from a nickname given drummer Davis when he lived full time in a yurt. The trio previously played out in 2 different bands, Acoustic Underminds and Wiley Dobbs. They played in mostly New York 2001-2005 and rekindled in Burlington a few years ago. Presently, The Yurtbags practice as 2 and 3 commonly and all 4 to get ready to play out. Jim and Rob also have two other bands, Swing Noir and Bloodroot Gap, which are predominantly acoustic. They’re really enjoying this electric show.
Monette commented, “It was a joy to see so many local friends out having a great time on such a beautiful day. This band is so talented and I have way too much fun every time we rock and roll. And Red Clover is fantastic at bringing a room full of cool folks together, great beer, great food vendors, so amazing!” Some folks may remember Monette from her previous band, The Redneck Aliens, back in the day! They were recorded on The Best of the Green Mountain Blues multiple times. She lives up to the fame!
Look for The Yurtbags playing soon near you!
